Wednesday, December 8, 2010

To Work

Today is my favorite kind of weather: it's sunny and frosty. I love frosty air and would gladly walk to work. It's just 3,5 miles, which is not a long distance to walk at all in this nice weather. I can't do that, though, because there are no sidewalks here for people to travel on foot. This car-obsessed lifestyle is horribly inconvenient, unhealthy, and expensive. I truly pity the teenagers of this area. They can't go anywhere unless their parents drive them around. And then everybody is shocked that the rates of obesity are growing and people become less healthy every year.

It's so sad that a simple pleasure of walking to work on a beautiful frosty day has been stolen from us by nasty car manufacturers who want to squeeze us into their stinky heaps of metal by any means necessary.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Couldn't agree more. I grew up in a city in which it was completely impossible to get around without a car. It was miserable as a teenager before I had my license. It doesn't make any sense; I don't understand who in their right mind would allow a city to be designed that way.

I love this weather, too--we're having the same in New York this morning.

Lindsay said...

Yes, absolutely.

It especially sucks if you *cannot* drive, due to disability. You really don't have much freedom of movement at all.

Sometimes, if a street without sidewalks is small and carries very little traffic, like a lot of residential streets, I will walk in it anyway, but most streets outside of sleepy residential areas are too dangerous to do that on.


There is a bit of a trend now toward more walkable communities --- maybe your town will get sidewalks, or walking trails that go from residential or business areas.

V said...

What teenagers? What are you talking about? :) Carless teenagers are not supposed to roam around town freely. All kinds of mischief can result from that... :)
Teenagers are supposed to be at home and study, preferably under the supervision of a "domestic engineer" :) :)

Clarissa said...

"Carless teenagers are not supposed to roam around town freely. All kinds of mischief can result from that... :)
Teenagers are supposed to be at home and study, preferably under the supervision of a "domestic engineer" :) :)"

-Ok, this is just priceless. :-))))))))))

eric said...

"There is a bit of a trend now toward more walkable communities --- maybe your town will get sidewalks, or walking trails that go from residential or business areas."

Mine is like that. Neighborhoods are interspersed with huge parks, and I can walk virtually anywhere without getting clipped by some car. There's nothing like taking my dog out on a 4-mile walk on a clear, cold winter night, and it's so quiet I can hear a pin drop!